Wow, over ten years and no answer.

Okay, there were at least 7 electric versions of Monkey & the Engineer played in 1970, mostly during February - April, but also NYE.

a show with this many "stars" sitting in might look good on paper, but is performed horribly.
just absolute garbage. sounds like a garage practice for the first time.

This whole Forum stop on the tour was the weirdest weekend ever!! I ended up calling setlists in the daytime with friends in the parking lot, only to hear em play what I called that night. Sunday comes and I'm kinda speechless and everyones in awe - when asked what they'll play tonight, my response was Monkey and the Engineer... "They'll never play that song" was the response I got. IMO one of the best shows ever - maybe not as tight as some think but you can tell they (the band) were definitely havin fun!! Shows were never the same again

Oh, and yes, I do believe it was the only full band electric version

This show is okay but Jerry flubs too many lyrics and the boys just were not "on" this night. On most songs the boys seem like they are out of sync with each other. There are much better examples of 4 or 5 star shows and this isn't it. My favorite show of 1989 is 7-7-89 JFK. Not saying it's the best but favorite.

Is this the only full band full electric Monkey and the Engineer? Only one I can remember. A couple of old songs pulled out. How Long Blues back from 1970 I guess. The sound is nice though. It sounds like it was a fun show. I envy you folks who were there.

Obviously I can't confirm that Bob Dylan was actually drunk but is was unfortunate that his contribution as effectivley worthless! I was in the front as usual. Not that it has any relevance but I remember him showing up unannounced at the Forum with Tom Petty at a Benefit for (AIDs or anti-apartheid ?) which was also at the Forum with many other performers such as Joan Baez, Peter Gabriel, Sting, amongst others in '86, plus a reugalr show of his with Tom Petty at Irvine. Then I saw all three West Coast of is performances with Grateful Dead in '87. Again I hate to brag but besides this I saw several Bob Dyaln show with his own band and the first time I saw him was with my Dad when I was 15 in '74 with The Band also here at the Forum, therefore I feel I am qualified to access his presence at this show which was little more than just that alone!
Moreover I saw 9 acoustic Grateful Dead performances in 1980 including New Year's, but I still liked Monkey & the Engineer! As for Spencer Davis, see near the end of the year.

Any show with Dylan rocks. Great 2nd set setlist. There's a good video of this show out there. Durring Stuck inside Mobile, Dylan helps Bobby with a few vocals. Real surprise there. Monkey and the Engineer was fun. Could'nt wait to leave L.A.. Head on the road for spring tour 89! Atlanta, ready or not here we come.

I recall rumors saturating the lot about guest appearances....Dylan, Stephen Stills... there was so much rampant speculation, and rumors on the lot were unfounded 75% of the time. Needless to say, we were all pleasantly surprised when "Monkey & the Engineer" emerged for the first time in 17 years! I have no idea if they ever played it again, since I stopped touring at the end of '90. I am very happy to have found this nook on the 'net. Take care all!

1st Set: A fluid, but a tad too polite "Cold Rain" opens up the final night, and sixth show in So. California in three months. Hear that Phil?! Two Phil & Friends shows in LA in 48 months, but 6 Dead shows in 2 1/2. (Bastard always kissing NYC's ass) After a ten second pause, it's time to go to "Hell." It's decent enough, but the recent ones I've heard lack the excitement and youthful vigor of '87 versions. Find yourself a plush mattress and pillow and rest your eyes visualizing the parable "Row." 12 full beats and a "BIODTL." Pretty chill version that segues into a similiarly sounding "Promised." Thankfully, the frills start jumping out halfway through the rendition leading to a very pleasing version. "West LA"'s got some attitude, but leaves me with no blisters from those unsavory characters. Spencer Davis joins the band on-stage for an infectiously uptempo "How Long Blues." A hard-charging "Gimme" closes out the set. It's longer than usual with a cool-down/pick-me up last three minutes. Brent's Hammond is toned down to make room for Spencer's Chicago Blues guitar work and his rough deep-hewn vocals. "Spencer Davis. We'll be back in a little bit." (Bobby) "Thank you. I'd like to thank the gentlemen from the Grateful Dead." (Spencer)

2nd Set: Back atcha with a nicely vocalized, but bit weak "Iko Iko." It's the first time in a where I can claim that Brent's solos sound tired. Well well...a friend from back when "Monkey & the Engineer" returns for a one-time appearance. Pretty innocuous and unexciting but I enjoyed singing along. A decent "Alabama" follows though it would help if Jery could firm up his vocal delivery. "Dire" is fine...but I'm getting awfully impatient with all the fluff. "Cassidy" is direct with some off-putting chords hit by Mr. Dylan, still stuck in his 80's mire. Speaking with being stuck "Memphis" is next. Jerry adds some pleadingly urgent harmonies every so often, but it's pretty basic and brisk. A very funny moment happens at 5:57 when Bobby forgets the lyric...Dylan crawls up to the mic and takes over singing...and they switch off for the remainder of the duration. Into "Drums" & "space" the latter veers into twisted territory. Gotta dig the anticipatory feeling during the beginning of "TOO" as the pluckers lead us to believe that action will be picking up. Phil and Jerry sound great riffing off each other. "Stella" makes me feel especially weary after only 4 hours of sleep the previous night. Frankly, the version like the closing "Foolish" that follows feels rushed. Ten sconds of a horrifying 'nails on chalkboard' noise is emitted at 5:07. A wispy

The crowd senses the "NFA" that arises. More 'nails on chalkboard' at 1:54. Standard. Dylan sounds silly while singing a decent "Knockin." He lacks Jerry's convincingly heavy honesty.

3 stars

Who cares about Bob Dylan? We have a good recording of the Dead here. The sound is decent. Lots of Phil's great, smooth lines. One of the better recordings for isolating Phil. Vocals are also clear. Bob Dylan sighting in the second set. Not the most amazing preformance, but a very worthy show. Worth downloading...
Wait! Can't do that anymore. Worth streaming then.

Anyone get this before "A-hole of the Year" Weir put a stop to our fun? Would like to trade for this. I've got plenty of SBDs to trade. Drop me a line at michigansux@hotmail.com

A little history; Dylan wasn't "drunk", he was obviously having a lot of fun "playing in the band." When he rehearsed with The Dead prior to the 1987 stadium tour he had rehearsed many Grateful Dead songs where he just played along and in fact made statements that all he wanted to do was play with the Grateful Dead and maybe play a couple of his songs during a show.

That is what he did at this show...He was having fun and it wasn't until Bobby went "up" on the words to Memphis that Dylan really joined in.

Being in the moat in front of the stage for this was very interesting because you could see very clearly that the other band members had no idea what Dylan wanted to do.

Dylan, who was reportedly very drunk, makes an appearance but contributed little at first though he did seem to be calling the setlist. Bobby was trying to get him to sing on Memphis Blues and had to pretend that he forgot the lyrics in order to get Dylan to step up. Dylan did sing on the encore too and a nice reprise of Not Fade Away with Jerry adding licks in between the chants of the crowd. Very interesting show to be at. Good second set and good songs with Spencer David too.

While I truly love Bob Dylan, this has to be one of the most useless guest appearances ever. But hey, it sparked a wacky setlist so what the hell.

parts of my brain are still trapped in the second set of this show, it was quite the jammer, the liquid was good too, enjoy